World War II Honoree

Carl Lucas Norden

Hometown

Barneveld

Honored By

Ralph Bozorth

Relationship

A Grateful American

He created the Norden bombsight which increased the accuracy of high-altitude bombing in Martin B-10s of the 7th and 19th Bomb Groups. The first day of testing saw the B-10s coming within 520 feet of the targets from altitudes of 12,000 to 15,000 feet. By the end of the tests, the bombs were hitting within 164 feet of the targets. The Norden bombsight worked by using an analog computer and an automatic stabilization system to calculate the correct release point for a bomb. The bombardier would enter flight data like altitude, speed, and wind, then track the target through a synchronized telescope. The bombsight used a gyroscope to stabilize the sight and a rotating mirror to account for the bomber's speed, allowing it to continuously solve for the dropping angle and even automatically release the bombs or make adjustments to the aircraft's autopilot. The system was also designed to account for wind drift. The bombardier's ability to keep the target in the sight helped the system determine the wind drift angle. The bombsight would then automatically adjust the aircraft's course to compensate for crosswinds and steer the plane to the correct release point. It's interesting to note that he didn't make money on the bombsight during the war, selling his rights to the sight to the government for one dollar.